HardWired II

[Flag Captured]

Hahaha, bring it on!!!

I think really my shell is just indestructible and probably always will be now for the HardWired series (I quite like the label of being that robot that's got the insanely thick hardox) but the worry is the shocks, since there are things I can't shock mount fully... I could potentially go with some kind of suspension or rubber dampers for things but it starts getting a bit too technical and overly complicated when I could avoid it...

Hatchets axe, with more brute force behind it could really be nasty too... Definitely looking forward to those changes and improvements!

[mrsam]

The axe should be nasty when it's done, i'm planning on getting Mario to make me up one maybe 2 more with different heads so i can pink and choose for different opponents, so the current axe, one with pointy head and possibly one with a heavy hammer.

[Flag Captured]

I don't think you want something really heavy, otherwise it'll be slow and you'll jump a lot when you fire, a bludgeoning weapon is always great, and interchangeable with a pointy spike like little hitter could be very interesting. If you did something like that, you'd easily be able to have at my wheels!

[mrsam]

We'll see about the hammer, i'm still undecided although i've decided i don't like the idea of being at a spinner event with only one axe, it makes me not want to use it on spinners in case it get's damaged, at least if i have a spare i can get stuck in.

[Flag Captured]

Yeah, that's probably for the best. Don't want to get one wrecked and not have a replacement!

Just been watching footage from the shows, HardWired actually stood up to more than I thought, but I definitely need more weight and traction for next time. It's quite clear that the announcer wasn't a fan of my robot though, mentioning weak armour and that it'll easily get mangled (?) and staying out of the way of the fight when I'd lodged myself under Binky and DB10, a little bit disappointed by that in hindsight, but it's no big deal.
The HardWired II I'll be entering next year will be a lot more powerful on the drive so that should be better. If I can add more weight, shock absorbing and a bit more control, I think I'll be able to do a lot more. Tempted to go for magnets too, but there's plenty of downsides to their use in my machine.

Other than that, I'm doing a brand new robot, HardWired III which I'll attempt to build on my own there-abouts to try and home my skills so I'll be able to fix up robots instead of asking for help from others. As brilliant and helpful as everyone was, I can't be doing that every five minutes, it's not fair! This new one will be essentially a 2WD Rango. I'll use the already established design of HardWired II and work from there on it, it'll have some dimension changes to suit a spinner, but the design works well so I don't want to stray from it too much. I want to keep HWII as my indestructible, reliable brick with HWIII being more of an experimental, more damaging machine. Initially the idea was to fit HWII with a disc but after a few chats, it'd involve quite a lot of messing about and it'd mean heavy changes to the chassis to fit the disc in, so why not start again from scratch and keep both running!

Both will enter into the 2015 champs if I can find another driver. Should be very interesting indeed!

Would just like to thank everyone involved again for such a fantastic event, and to Mario for helping create such a tough little machine!

[Mouldy]

Don't feel disheartened by what the commentator said - he's only there for the audience and does a good job on commentating… he has no knowledge of robots though. You did really well.

[Flag Captured]

Cheers Dave!
Yeah, I'm not taking it to heart, most people just see a robot with no weapons and that's fair enough. Shame he didn't pick up on my totally legit street racer drifting skills though haha! Thanks though, I hope I didn't do too bad for a first attempt!

720 was awesome this year too, you left a right mark in the side of HardWired, biggest damage I saw the entire competition! The side is quite noticeably bent in too, which for 6.5mm Hardox is pretty scary! Shame about the main competition, very unlucky with that drive problem...

image.jpg

[mrsam]

It was a huge hit, i didn't really see what happened i was too busy trying to fend off little hitter, i just saw you go flying. Tough little machine though and brilliant driving for a first timer, can't wait to see what improvements you make for the next one.

[Flag Captured]

I wasn't paying full attention, I was keeping an eye on No Toy, Hatchet and Little Hitter because my motors and LiPo could have been punctured if I wasn't careful... New top plate for next year, definitely. That, and a hard case for my LiPo. Wouldn't have been as worried if I had those, just didn't want to cause a fire!

Thanks too! Hopefully should be all round better next year, brushless drive, gyro, pistol Tx etc, should be a lot stronger! Problem this year was the speed of the wheels and grip, but if I can sort those out it should have plenty of power to push everything round...

Looking forward to seeing Hatchet's upgrades too, will be absolutely lethal when they're done!

[daveimi]

I would say it's grip you need not more power!!

[Flag Captured]

Well, that's part of the plan! More grip, lower ratio (maybe) bigger wheels and brushless and it'll be gold!
Problem is that for the most part the ratio and motors produce mostly speed, and not too much torque in practise. Maybe that's just the low amount of grip but I'm not really sure. Either way, a lower ratio with Brushless can't harm, means I'll get a bit more out of it and it'll be a bit more controllable!

[mrsam]

I think your lack of grip may have been a combination of not enough weight and as with hatchet the screws holding the tread on being proud above the rubber, I don't think the tread was overly grippy to start with but it seems to wear down quite quickly. Can't wait to see your attempt at brushless drive tbough, mr mangle proved it's a viable system but the drive isn't the focus of the robot, with hardwired however you can really go all out with it

[Flag Captured]

Yeah, that might be it... I lost my tread very quickly so it's probably a lot of that. Might try some banebots wheels or equivalent, see how they last up. Thanks too, the brushless drive might prove valuable, nay critical to HardWired II's design, if I make the changes I'm thinking of. Basically, it'll be like Satanix on fast-forward haha. Will likely adjust the controls for better low-end, and stupid fast top-end control. Maybe a turbo toggleable button if I can.

Also, belated thanks to Dave Moulds for giving me such a stylish exit from my final fight of the weekend, 16 seconds in to the Gladiator... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9kSl1bOToE

I love how you can see my train of thought - LH3 chases me and I'm like NOPE and drive off (axes will mess up HardWired II bad, the LiPo has a tiny little air gap between it and the top plate, filled by foam but don't want to risk it) and then No Toy turns towards me so I take a quick reverse... straight into 720.

Was told by a few people I had a good chance of taking the Gladiator because of my thick armour and hilariously over-the-top battery size, and I was the first gone. I'll be back for that trophy though!

[Flag Captured]

Also, videos of HardWired II's fights from the weekend, bar most of the whiteboards (anyone have those? They were some of the most fun fights I had haha)

In order, competition fights:

VS Ironside and Binky (Win, I guess?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acahEwpPll8

Not much to say here, I ran into Ironside, it broke and Binky didn't work. Both of which were stupidly lucky for me, but I'm happy to have won my first fight!

VS NST and Carcinus (Lose/3rd)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYfAF1Uxd1Y

I didn't put the link in properly. Simple as that - NST clipped the top off, and the rest is pretty explanatory. Being the skilled driver he is, I do recall Sam actually saying to me that the bar wasn't spun up to full speed because it would have sent NST out, in which case there was literally nothing I could do bar take the hits and hope to win on aggression anyway, assuming NST hadn't already won on damage. And Carcinus could easily have had me too, but I was hoping to at least outlast it but you win some, you lose some! I like to think that this loss was mainly karma at work... Would love a rematch some day though, I think with better drive I'd have NST on the ropes! All damage was completely cosmetic though, just a few dents in the armour but nothing major. Put a new link in immediately after, and it still run fine on the bench, quick charge and she was ready to go once more!

VS Joule and Gianto (2nd place)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtYfvZ_FEWw

Wait a minute... against Grant and James? That's going to end well for me! Joule worked well it seems, and I was very scared of it, hence the patented Flag Robotics 'precision engineering top plate' (for sale, £1000 ONO). As it happened, it pulled an awesome trick and flipped itself out of the arena, unfortunately for Grant... that hammer didn't half hit though, it caught me on the self right and pulled out 3 of my 5 bolts for the back plate! After that spectacular exit, I was head to head against Gianto, and there's only one way that'll end - Gianto has much more push than me. It looks like I drove into the pit - I did, but what happened was one wheel was skidding slightly to the pit, so I tried to turn away by applying the throttle to the right side, which actually sent me straight forward and into the pit. 2nd place ain't bad though, 6 points total by now. Need a win by KO to qualify, which should be easy as long as I'm not up against any high-pressure flippers.

VS Beauty 8 and Gianto (Lose, 3rd place)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWBseSfdLEQ

I drove onto his flipper. Need I say any more? I lost out to the eventual runner up though, so I guess I'm not doing so bad there. 8 points total, 10 needed to qualify - not bad for a machine on its first run, with no grip in the wheels!

And finally, a damage report for the post-champs round up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zG4VHorGnM


Will post the whiteboards and whatnot tomorrow!



Overall, quite happy with how it performed, and I now know what improvements to make! Again, such a fantastic event and I had so much fun there, I really wish I was there again now!

[mrsam]

Wow you left the arena in style ! I love how pathetic hatchet was in that fight just trying to fend people off with the axe, shame you got thrown out i reckon you had a good chance of winning